I was pleasantly surprised by Trader Joe’s frozen “Middle Eastern Style Kebabs, Seasoned Beef Patties” at how good these are.I thought these are good enough that one could imagine either you made them yourself or from a Middle Eastern joint. I found these quite tasty. Flavorful with lots of nice spices. These are what you would call KOFTE kebabs. Ground meat with veggies and seasonings. Now, I’ve made these style of kebabs myself in the past often, and honestly TJ’s version almost tasted like something I might have made myself.
The Trader Joe’s Beef Kebabs are well seasoned with an authentic Middle Eastern style flavor – they have coriander, cumin, allspice, cloves plus other spices.
The ingredients listed in these are nice and simple, and sound pretty much like what I would use if I made them:
I was even surprised that my wife , who is really tough on Trader Joe’s frozen foods, liked these! She said they were tasty. In fact she even asked if I had made them or bought them from TJ’s (hah!) That’s a good review.
Wrapped up in the LAVASH flatbread, with a yogurt garlic sauce, lettuce and onions…..
COOKING: Personally I think they benefit from a getting nice and browned up. As brown as possible. I cooked them in a pan on the stove – in spite of them not even listing this as way to make them. Trust me you can cook these in a pan which for me its the best way, especially as I cooked other things at the same time in the same pan. I added a handful of sliced onions and a tablespoon of olive oil. Some sliced garlic will not hurt!
When it was all done I I warmed up my flatbread in the same pan after I took everything out.
Other ways they list are oven, grill and air fryer too and microwave ( I say don’t just nuke it!)
I just put a little olive oil in a pan and cooked them on medium low until they were hot and nicely browned, which took maybe 7-8 minutes per side. You can also make them in the oven or in an air fryer or on a grill. Microwave? I wouldn’t though the package says so. Reason being I think they will be far better getting a bit more browning from actual cooking.
These can be a great lunch or dinner. I served the kebabs on flatbread with veggies and a sauce. Actually the first time I used flour tortillas as my flatbread and those work fine or serve them with Pita or Naan or best perhaps might be TJ’s LAVASH flat bread. I topped them with thinly sliced red onions, tomatoes and parsley. Then put sauce on top. Cucumbers, red or yellow peppers, or some greens all will work great with these kebabs.
SAUCE: I made an easy sauce of Greek yogurt and garlic – or just use use TJ’s Tzaziki sauce which is basically that with a little cucumber added. Or spread your bread with TJ’s yummy garlic spread. A few drops of lemon too will send these skyward.
On the side, I made some a delicious Yemeni rice dish, a recipe I found on YouTube, which I put below if you want to try that. It tastes amazing with these kebabs but even just some Basmati or Jasmine rice will be great as well.
I think these are one of the better frozen foods I’ve found at Trader Joe’s, along with many of the frozen Indian dishes.
They were about $6.50 (12 oz) with 6 kebabs in the bag (update: about $7.49 now)?
These would be great to have in the freezer to come up with a quick dinner easily.
I would buy them again.
Want to try your hand at making these style of “kofte kebabs”. Here’s a recipe for a Lebanese beef kofte. You might even use the Organic Ground Beef if you made them yourself.
These are called Savory Mini Thin Rice Crackers and they’re really tasty and really good. I just love them. They are about the size of a quarter. They’re incredibly crunchy and are delicious as a snack by themselves as well as equally delicious used like any cracker. Spread something on them, some cheese or spread or peanut butter and jam. Top them with a slice of ham, cheese, or whatever you want. If you are someone who is Gluten Free (I’m not) these are primarily made from rice. Ingredients listed are : rice flour, sesame seeds, safflower oil, tamari soy sauce powder, maltodextrin, salt and garlic powder. These light colored ones are $3.49 a bag (8 oz). There’s another multiseed kind (with Tamari) that are darker that are also good and are $3.99.
According to the Nutrition facts label there are 130 calories in 38 crackers! So pretty Low Calorie as far as snacks go and not heavy in the Sodium department either. So I’d say this is a pretty healthy snack as far as crackers you can buy.
They had this New Item right near the checkout line and so I was waiting I checked it out and then I noticed the sample station (Back, finally. Yeh!) happened to be offering samples of this so I grabbed some to taste. Yum. So good. This nut mix really looked “gourmet” with big pieces of top quality nuts: almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans and it had a little flavor of rosemary which elevated the whole combination.
I assume this is a seasonal Fall/Xmas special nut mix and is specially geared for Thanksgiving and holiday get togethers. This would impress any guest who would probably ask you where you got it.
TJ’s says: “Every good get-together needs a good snack mix, which is precisely why we like to keep a canister of our Nuts About Rosemary Mix on hand…roasted almonds, cashews, hazelnuts (aka Filberts) and pecans, all mixed together with a rosemary and sea salt spice blend spiked with just a touch of sugar.”
This stuff is super. I love it. Limited supplies so grab a bottle while you can if you are interested!
In case you are not familiar with it, Japanese yuzu is a citrus fruit that looks like a lemon, but is quite different and unique with its own distinctive flavor. It’s used quite a bit in Japanese cuisine. Among other things they use it to make Yuzu Kosho, a spice of the zest combined with chile pepper for a spicy citrus-y condiment. Yuzu kosho has been discovered by chefs here. “The secret weapon condiment chefs are putting on everything… It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a silver bullet condiment that’ll instantly impart depth to your dish. Chefs know it—they’ve been using it at their restaurants for years—and it’s time you did, too.”
This sauce has yuzu kosho combined with “small batch vinegar” to make a hot sauce that you can add a few drops or more to any food, to give it a real spark of flavor.
The sauce is really tasty and gives a nice citrusy kick to anything you put it on. As far as the spice level here, I would call it just mildly spicy, maybe “medium”, certainly not knock you head off spicy, so it may appeal to many people who can’t take too much heat.
What can you use Yuzu Kosho sauce on? Almost anything. The question might even be rephrased as what can’t you use it on? Its good on chicken, fish, salads, eggs, meats, tofu, pretty much anything you can think of. I just tested it on good old cottage cheese and it elevated something boring to a new taste.
This is worth trying if you like to taste unique items as as they say “limited” if you want to try it, grab one while you can. $3.99 a small (100 ml) bottle.
This is a seasonal (Fall/Christmas) item and to me it smells “Holiday, Christmas-y” but not too much over the top (you know, like a Hallmark movie?) Its a foaming soap, so as soon as you pump some out, your hands will already have tons of lather going. I liked it and I like the smell which is subtle and not too strong. My wife said she didn’t like the smell until I told her its a Xmas thing and then she changed her mind and told me it’s very nice! 8 oz. Pump bottle. $2.99
“Classic English Muffins – A breakfast essential” – I agree 100%!
I buy Trader Joe’s “English muffins” all the time. I just love these for breakfast, plus. They come in two versions, the regular classic one and a whole wheat version. Both are good versions of a classic English muffin with lots of nooks and crannies. They come already partially “fork split”. Just use your fingers or a fork to complete the job and gently open the muffins slowly. You want as many nooks and crannies as possible. Never ever cut a muffin open with a knife as you get a flat surface with no crannies.
Toast them until golden brown and delicious and enjoy with some good butter and maybe some strawberry or apricot jam. Muffins do kind of burn easily so watch them carefully when you toast them, a few seconds can take it from perfect to a little burnt.
Other than breakfast, can you do other things with them? Sure. These make a great base for many things, like a sandwich of say a fried or poached egg with ham, or some peanut butter and banana? The base for some avocado toast. Finally of course Americans came up with a great use, our famous kid and adult beloved Pizza Muffins maybe? Toast, top with a little sauce and mozzarella and voila.
There are six muffins in a package (12 oz). Now $1.99, still a pretty good deal. I would buy them again. The other Brit style breakfast treats are also good and I’ve previously mentioned are TJ’s English Crumpets (though they cost more).
TIP: What I do after a day or two in the fridge, is open all the muffins up and then put them back in the package and then freeze them. This makes it easy to just take them out and toast them.
I saw this in NEW ITEMS about a month ago and grabbed one to try. This sauce is made by Red Boat, a company that makes a famous top Asian fish sauce. Trader Joe’s sells tha. Its a well known top brand fish sauce. Something I always like to have in the pantry. Its Pure Umami.
Red Boat says: “In Vietnamese, kho means to braise and this dish is on regular rotation in all Vietnamese households but is rarely served in restaurants. Our Pham-ily created this sauce so you can enjoy this delicious meal, just like in our mom’s kitchen, in less than 30 minutes.”
We know Trader Joe’s likes what they call “simmer sauces”. They have at least two versions of Thai ones and an Indian sauce too. You can use these and just add a protein and veggies, pour in a bottle of your simmer sauce, let it simmer for about 20 minutes and voila you can have a very easy and tasty dish. This sauce made a delicious meal for us.
I used this sauce to make a braised dish with chicken and lots of vegetables. What I did was I sauté chicken (skin on, bone in thighs), tofu, carrots, onions, mushrooms, garlic and ginger for 10 minutes. Then I poured in the sauce and let it simmer. Though they say “simmer for 30 minutes”, I wanted the chicken to be falling off the bone so I let it simmer for more like 45-60 mins.
The resulting dish was excellent, redolent of fish sauce (nam pla) of course but it had many other flavors with lots of Umami. It had a bit of sweetness as well as a bit of heat. We thought the dish was so good, that we just scarfed it up! I used a lot of vegetables and bone in chicken so of course it had all the flavor from those as well, however you could easily make a less complicated easier dish with this sauce using boneless chicken, TJ’s Carnitas Pork, shrimp or fish or even tofu and mushrooms for that matter and come out with a lovely dish, full of Asian flavors. My intentions was to make enough for at least two meals so I used the whole jar plus 1/2 a jar of water as I wanted a huge amount of sauce for all the meat and veggies I used, and I got that which we enjoyed with rice.
Ingredients: Water, Fish Sauce, Organic Coconut Sugar, Canola Oil, Ginger, Shallot, Corn Starch, Green Onions, Citric Acid, Black Pepper, Sunflower Lecithin, Crushed Red Pepper, Yeast Extract.
I’m not sure if this was a one off trial run for Trader Joe’s or something they will keep in stock. If you do see this sauce it is worth getting if you want to make a great Vietnamese home style dish easily. In a pinch one could make the sauce using Red Boat fish sauce, coconut sugar and other ingredients (shallots, garlic…)
TJ’s had the sauce for $4.99 which is even cheaper than on the Red Boat website.
ALL NATURAL. No additives. One ingredient only. Peanuts.
If you asked me for one item I buy religiously at Trader Joe’s I would absolutely answer “Peanut Butter!”
It may not be revelatory news but TJ’s does have good peanut butter at very good prices. I probably get a jar every other week.
Big brands like SKIPPY or JIF, have regular peanut butter which have extra ingredients such as sugar or some sweetener plus hydrogenated oils, those added to keep it from separating. But “Natural” peanut butters on the other hand contain just peanuts. Of the assorted varieties TJ’s carries my favorite is this one: The “Crunchy/Salted” which has a blue label. (Side note: Smooth being for kids and crunchy for grownups? I consider the day I graduating kid-dom was when I decided to go Crunchy! To me, Crunchy has more peanut-y flavor from the peanut-y bits).
Any All Natural peanut butter tends to separate at room temp, meaning you will see a little oil at the top when you buy it but this is No big deal. Just stir it.
TIP: Put the jar in fridge for 10 minutes. After you open it, take a butter knife and get it to the bottom of the jar, then stir slowly 10 or 15 seconds until blended. Keep it in the fridge, it will stay blended (PB does actually say “refrigerate after opening”).
Though the price has gone up (from $1.99 to 2.29 and at present, $2.49). Still pretty decent compared to other stores/brands as their prices having gone up more.
I prefer this All Natural version however Trader Joe’s does sell a “No Stir” PB too. TJ’s regular Natural Peanut Butter is $2.49 (1 lb). It comes in a number of variety combinations, Smooth, Crunchy, Salted or Unsalted. They also sell an Organic version of Peanut Butter ($4.49)
Peanut butter has many uses. It’s terrific as an ingredient especially in Asian dishes; Try a Satay Style Peanut Sauce on some grilled chicken for example; The recipe follows
This was in NEW ITEMS. Verdict? It’s handy, handy, handy to have in the kitchen. Made of cotton and cellulose. They’re like a thin sponge. Absorbent. Reusable. “Ideal replacements for paper towels ” = Eco. We’ve used them for washing dishes, cleaning countertops, wiping cabinets. Large at about 8 inches square but just leave them like that as you can easily fold it up in half or quarters. They seem durable. They come five in a package ($4.99 so figure about a buck apiece, not too bad. Hopefully one will last at least a month or so? We’ll see. I even found another use that these are perfect for: namely using it to open a jar (one on the top and for really tricky jar, another on the bottom.
“Wife Approved” (she gave these a thumbs up. These are good and I would buy again along with TJ’s Amazing Cleaning Cloths which sell for $2.99. Those are also super handy, and when they wear out I used them for rags, floor cleaners, etc.
NEW ITEM: This is the latest “small lot” coffee on offer at Trader Joe’s (Sept 2023).
Many of these Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees are really good, some times even terrific, with yes an occasional dud. Many times these coffees are Single Origin, Single Estate coffee beans. The good stuff, like those you would find at some trendy Williamsburg roaster / shop, you know where small hand lettered bags of single estate beans can go for perhaps $30? If are the kind of person who would like to try lots of interesting and unique coffees but doesn’t want to break the bank, many times these Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees can be a great way to explore the World of Coffee. I found this latest Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffee offering to be a terrific robust tasting coffee.
This one is is from the mountains of the Dominican Republic and is called “Jarabacoa” with 100% Arabica beans in a Medium Dark Roast. Trader Joe’s description on the bag of this coffee has this to say….
“In Jarabacoa, third generation farmers have dedicated themselves to the production of coffee beans. ‘Honey processed’ and sun dried to impart a subtle sweetness, the beans are given a medium dark roast for a robust cup when brewed, brimming with notes of chocolate, brown sugar and blackberries”
I found this description to be right on. This coffee was as listed “medium-dark” (actually the picture may make it look darker). The beans are a shade past “medium” with just a little bit shiny in places, however I would not call this overly roasted, such as Starbucks is famous for doing to their beans. In fact this medium dark roast seems just right to me. A little bit under say a French Roast with a bit of that robust flavor those have if you like that sort of thing. Personally I love and really enjoy medium dark roasts, in addition to lighter roasts.
The beans smelled wonderful when I first opened up the bag, releasing the most heavenly aroma, and when I ground it up of course it smelled even better, perfuming the whole kitchen. I brewed up those freshly ground coffee trying it in both a Moka pot and another one as a pour over. The resulting brews were really tasty. I found the coffee rich and dark and oh so good. As they said it had a subtle sweetness to it with yes, hints of chocolate and blackberries. It tasted better with each sip. I finished my cup, then I actually debated making another cup immediately. Yes I found it that good.
The Jarabacoa Dominican coffee has become my new favorite Trader Joe’s coffee at the moment. I’m really enjoying it. TJ’s is selling a 12 oz bag for $9.99. This is not bad as some recent small lot coffees that had were more, about $12 each.
Would I buy this again? Well I actually ran back the next day and got 2 more bags to have in the pantry “just in case” …. these small lot New Items coffees frequently go bye-bye pretty fast. I’ve lost out on some coffees by waiting too long only to find they ran out.
“Normally, the sticky-sweet outer layer of the coffee fruit is washed off, but these beans are “honey processed,” so that layer is left intact. Because they spend less time in water, the sun-dried beans ferment less and retain more natural sweetness. Trader Joe’s Dominican Republic Jarabacoa Small Lot Coffee wears its honey process on its sip. Immediately, a taster can detect a subtle sweetness, accompanied by notes of chocolate and hints of blackberry.”
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